Canterbury

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This idyllic little city in Kent, famous for its cathedral and the Canterbury Tales, is a good choice for a relaxing old-town stroll.

Legend has it that Canterbury was founded by Rudilibas in 900 A.D. and was known as Caerther or Caerkant (City of Kent) among the ancient Britons. From 43 B.C. the Romans took it over and renamed it Durovernum Cantiacorum (latin: duro: tough, ver: spring = tough spring, maybe because of the weather, wind and rain), which developed into the Roman’s administrative centre and had the largest amphitheatre in Britain; from 200 B.C a wall surrounded the city. Æthelberht of Kent, who reigned from 568 B.C., chose Canterbury as his residence and named the city Cantwarabyrig.
After the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity, the city was the residence of the archbishop-primus, the head of the Church in England and of the Anglo-Saxon communion. Since Henry VIII’s break with the Roman church, archbishops of Canterbury have been appointed by the English (later British) monarch.